Marin coroner puts a name to mystery remains near Stinson Beach

With no substantial clues except a hat found near the body, Marin County coroner's officials have identified a man found dead last month near Stinson Beach.

The man was identified as Raymond Caravacci, 77, a local man who was likely homeless and had a history of mental illness, said sheriff's Lt. Keith Boyd, assistant county coroner. The cause of death of pending but foul play is not suspected, Boyd said.

The body was found by a tourist on May 5 in some bushes off Shoreline Highway. The area had some worn paths suggesting the man might have been living in the bushes.

The body was highly decomposed and there were no belongings or identification that could immediately identify the man, so the coroner's office expected a potentially lengthy investigation.

The investigation turned on a purple fleece hat that was several feet from the body. It carried the logo of the OCSC Sailing, a sailing school and club in Berkeley.

Coroner's investigator Darrell Harris learned that the club gives the hats to both members and the general public. Harris asked the club to disseminate the approximate height of the dead man and other potential descriptors gleaned from the remains.

That led to a response from a club manager who lives in Stinson Beach. The manager used to have a tenant with an in-home caretaker, and she recalled giving the caretaker an OCSC hat.

The tenant eventually left for another residence, and the caretaker moved out. But the manager remembered the caretaker's name as Raymond and produced a photo of him that she had on her cellphone.

With that and other leads, Harris was able to identify the caretaker as Caravacci and tracked down a dentist who did work for him in 2012 under the state Denti-Cal insurance plan. The dental records were matched to the Stinson Beach remains.

In addition, Harris tracked down a son who had not seen Caravacci since childhood and two half-sisters who had not seen him in 70 years. DNA samples were obtained, but they turned out to be unneeded because the dental confirmation came in.

Funeral arrangements are pending the completion of additional forensic work to determine the cause of death.